Scope: Feminine Pads & Protectors = disposable sanitary pads, panty liners, reusable cloth pads, and period underwear worn externally to absorb menstrual flow; excludes tampons and menstrual cups/discs (worn internally, separate catalog leaves `tampons`/`menstrual-cups`) and incontinence absorbent products (separate leaf `bed-pans`).

Seed:
1. Equivalent of treadwear grade: absorbency_capacity_ml on period underwear — a brand-stated number that compares within one brand's own mL-per-tampon convention but not reliably across brands.
2. A textile conservator would notice the waterproof layer first: PUL laminate (or old wool wet-felting) is what actually fails after repeated washing/heat, not the visible top fabric.

Sources:
[fda_21cfr_884_5425] https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/884.5425 — Class I vs Class II scented-pad classification — fetched: "Class I (general controls) for menstrual pads made of common cellulosic and synthetic material... Class II (special controls) for scented or scented deodorized menstrual pads"
[tamponmanufacturer_pad_sizes] tamponmanufacturer.com/sanitary-pad-sizes... — length bands + drop scale — fetched: "~245mm Normal daytime flow Heavy / Maxi 3-4 drops ~285-330mm ... Overnight 4-5+ drops ~330-420mm"
[niceday_pad_sizes] nicedayglobal.com/how-to-choose... — corroborates length bands — fetched: "Panty liner 155-180 mm ... Overnight pad 330-420 mm"
[childsea_absorbency_guide] childsea.com/an-experts-5-step-guide... — second drop scale — fetched: "Light/Lite 1-2 filled droplets ... Overnight/Maxi 7-8 filled droplets"
[natracare_pads] natracare.com/products/pads/ — organic/chlorine-free core+topsheet — fetched: "totally chlorine free bleaching method to purify our organic cotton"
[wikipedia_sanitary_napkin] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitary_napkin — topsheet/backsheet/SAP + PFOA finding — fetched: "liquid-pervious topsheet and a liquid-impervious plastic backsheet"; "found to contain the toxic chemical PFOA"
[wikipedia_cloth_menstrual_pad] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloth_menstrual_pad — fabrics + PUL + biodegrade time — fetched: "flannel, cotton, hemp, bamboo terry... polyurethane laminate"; "500-800 years are needed to biodegrade a pad"
[periodfinder_methodology] periodfinder.com/absorbency/methodology — tampon-equivalent inconsistency — fetched: "Thinx states a 9 mL regular tampon... WUKA, which states 5 mL per tampon"
[nbc_select_period_underwear] nbcnews.com/select/.../best-period-underwear — wear-hours + ml/tampon mix — fetched: "prevents leakage for up to 12 hours"; "changing it after 5-8 hours"
[lilhelper_how_many_pads] lilhelperusa.com/.../how-many-reusable-pads-do-i-need — pads/day — fetched: "report using up to 4 pads per day during their cycle"
[theperiodlady_how_many_pads] theperiodlady.co.uk/.../how-many-reusable-sanitary-pads... — stash size — fetched: "aim for 10 regular and 4-5 night time reusable pads"
[thinx_how_it_works] thinx.com/pages/how-thinx-works — wear duration brand claim — fetched: "leakproof up to 12 hours"
[bsis_menstruation_guide] hemophiliafed.org BSIS PDF — oz/ml worked example — fetched (pdftotext): "Oz./ml .17/5" ; "more than 80 ml ... might merit a conversation with your doctor"

Branches: product_type -> 4 legs (disposable_pad/panty_liner/reusable_cloth_pad/period_underwear), each routes to its own facet set per wikipedia_sanitary_napkin + wikipedia_cloth_menstrual_pad defining the four forms. flow_level -> spotting_or_discharge leg makes drop rating and ml capacity irrelevant, per childsea_absorbency_guide's liner-is-not-flow-rated distinction.

Noise (spec-sheet rows left out): price/brand/star rating (never facets, per rule); pack count/quantity (retail logistics, not expertise); individually-wrapped packaging (convenience, not comparative); color/print design of wrapper (cosmetic); "hypoallergenic" claim (folded into topsheet_material + scent, not a separate facet); TSS warning (governing risk is specific to internal-wear tampons/cups, the sibling leaves, not externally-worn pads).

Corrections (2026-10-26):
- Added `foam_core` value to `core_absorbent_material` (missing a top-selling foam-core construction), sourced to two P&G absorbent-article patents (EP1229879B1, EP3082689B1) fetched and grepped directly; added matching vocabulary entry.
- Added `pad_length` and `topsheet_material` to the `reusable_cloth_pad` branch's `makes_irrelevant` (the branch was missing 2 of 14 facets).
- Relabeled `absorbency_drop_rating` from `source: listing` to `researched`; its own backfill_note already said most listings carry only the tier name.
- Widened `absorbency_capacity_ml` range max 60->63mL and `stash_size_per_cycle` range max 20->22 so each range agrees with its own cited typical text; added a judgement flagging that marketed mL can exceed independently-tested held capacity.
- Generalized the `wings` facet definition and vocabulary entry: wings are adhesive on disposable pads/liners but snap-fastened on cloth pads, not adhesive in every case as the old wording implied.
- Added a new `pad_profile_thickness` facet (ultra_thin/regular_profile/thick_bulky), sourced to childsea_absorbency_guide and natracare_pads (both re-fetched and grepped), and wired it into all four product_type branches.
- Broadened `topsheet_material`'s organic-cotton definition and the "GOTS certified" vocabulary entry to note that brands also use other organic-content standards (e.g. OCS), not only GOTS. Not independently sourced beyond this general note — kept as a wording broadening per the checker's own "minor" framing, since no fetchable OCS-specific source was reachable in this run (textileexchange.org blocked by a bot challenge; no Wikipedia article exists for it).